2009 News

February 4, 2009

Commissioners Approve Resolutions for 14 Departments

On the snowiest morning of the 2008-09 winter to date, the Board of Bucks County Commissioners took a line-item microscope to resolutions involving 14 county departments. Following more than an hour of analysis of the business agenda, Commissioners Charles H. Martin, Chairman, James F. Cawley, Esq., and Diane M. Ellis-Marseglia passed all proposed business resolutions.

The meeting opened with a Letter of Commendation and the presentation of a special-edition Commissioners’ tile to Mrs. Ellen Johnson of Chalfont. Mrs. Johnson, a member of the County Line Quilters Guild, shared her patriot quilt, “Our Bleeding Heart and Prayer for Peace,” which is based on a series of trips to the Hometown Heroes tribute in the Courthouse courtyard. “I am humbled by this,” she told the board. “It (creating the quilt) was really a touching experience.”

Following a motion by Vice Chairman Cawley, the board unanimously agreed to table the executive director portion of a $1.278 million, 32-month contract with Adecco of Philadelphia, 100 percent of which is funded by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Federal grant money. The approximately $125,000-per-year director position will report to the five-county Pennsylvania Southeastern Region Task Force. On hand to answer questions about the appointment was Lola Biuckians, who currently serves as the Task Force Program Manager.

Chairman Martin joined Cawley and Marseglia in wanting to know more about the proposed hiring, which was recommended by the Emergency Services directors (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties) who comprise the Task Force.

“We hope to get the information we need as quickly as possible,” Chairman Martin observed, seconds before Commissioner Marseglia requested a detailed listing of the projects the Task Force has undertaken through its funding stream.

The Commissioners approved a one-year, $171,000 with B&B Turf Management (Dennis Bonner and Michael Brnilovich) for professional service management of the Oxford Valley Golf Course. The contract represents no increase over 2008, when 31,671 rounds of golf netted just over $300,000 during the season. According to Parks and Recreation Executive Director Bill Mitchell, the golf course should be open for business during late March, weather permitting.

With Commissioner Marseglia casting a dissenting vote, the board approved three insurance contracts, the first of which will add the Neshaminy Manor Pre-Treatment plant to the current property insurance policy, the second for Excess Workers Compensation insurance and the third for Excess General Liability and Excess Auto coverage.

Commissioner Marseglia also cast the dissenting vote on an employee out-of-county travel item to attend the annual Association for Professionals in Infection Control (APIC) Conference, as well as a $50,000 capped contract with Doylestown’s PrimeSpot HR to supply temporary office staff to the MH/MR offices in Warminster. In addition, she abstained on a $180,000 blanket order with Feasterville’s Analytic Bio-Chemistries Laboratories for blood and urine toxicology services for the District Attorney. The board directed Chief Operating Officer David Sanko to have discussions with the District Attorney’s office about toxicology services and report his findings at the next meeting.

During the miscellaneous other items portion of the meeting, the board discussed leasing of county property to Bristol Twp. for the purpose of building a skate park. Commissioner Cawley cited the evolving, cooperative venture as “Bucks County once again being a good neighbor to Bristol Twp. Our commitment to Bristol Twp. is a strong one, and will continue to be.” He added that Bristol Twp. is home to the county-operated Silver Lake Nature Center, the Lower Bucks Government Services Center, a branch of the Bucks County Free Library, two District Justice offices, and hundreds of acres of preserved open space.

Another approved contract was a one-year $207,240 agreement with Waste Management of Morrisville to remove trash and recycling materials from various county departments. The one-year contract replaced a four-year previous agreement. It was advised by new county Recycling Coordinator Art Feltes, as a means of revisiting it at the end of the current agreement. Chairman Martin commented that the contract bears careful monitoring of fuel prices during its duration.

During his bi-monthly report, Chief Operating Officer Sanko touched on four items, including Gov. Ed Rendell’s state budget address, which was taking place simultaneously in Harrisburg. Mr. Sanko said the county administration will continue to monitor the state budget’s effects on county services with a keen eye. He thanked county volunteers for conducting a Jan. 29, “point in time” field search for members of the county’s homeless population. The groups found 16 individuals in 25-degree conditions. Mr. Sanko also applauded county Asset Manager Pete McElroy for overseeing surplus sales that are projected to net more than $50,000 over a 60-day period. Finally, Mr. Sanko mentioned several improvements to the county Web site regarding the Municipal Primary, where all offices on the May 19, 2009 ballot are listed on the Board of Elections page.

NOTE: The next commissioners’ meeting will take place at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 18, in the Doylestown courthouse community room. For a full audio account of the Feb. 4 meeting, please go to www.BucksCounty.org and click on the link on the commissioners’ meeting page.